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📰🏟️ No hockey, just fighting

The “Eighth Wonder of the World”...

Peter Nowak, Kyle Nowak

19 Jun 2025 — 7 min read

Good morning. Some things you’ll learn over the next few minutes:

The price tag of the biggest sports-franchise sale in history
The marquee trades projected this NBA offseason
Which team had a stadium once referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World"

Let’s roll.

—Peter & Kyle

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🎰 AN EXPANSION BET

FanDuel and Kalshi want to parlay a partnership into more parlays

*Image: David Stephen/ACBJ/Cincinnati Business Courier*

More like FanPartner: FanDuel, the largest sports betting company in the US, has recently discussed a tie-up with prediction markets startup Kalshi that could bring parts of each other’s services to customers nationwide, according to Front Office Sports.

The benefits (in theory):

For Kalshi: FanDuel has 12M+ users, a potential gold mine. And while Kalshi offers relatively straightforward bets (futures/outright winners of games), industry experts say it’s only a matter of time until they start offering parlays, point spreads, over/under’s, etc.
For FanDuel: Kalshi offers access to non-sports markets (ex: “will the US say aliens exist this year?”), something FanDuel does not. Kalshi also has approval to operate in all 50 states, whereas sports betting is only legal in 39—leaving states like Texas and California untapped by the legal sports gambling industry, and potentially accessible via a prediction markets tie-up.

Tomato, to-mah-to

Traditional sports gambling sees users betting against the “house,” aka a casino, sportsbook, or offshore bookie that sets the odds and profits when bettors lose, while prediction markets are marketplaces where users bet against each other (a real fan duel), according to Kalshi.

But…Not everyone’s buying this pitch. While the prediction markets company has permission from the federal gov’t to operate nationwide, state regulators could throw a wrench into any partnership plans.

Seven states—NV, NJ, IL, MD, OH, MT, and AZ—have issued cease-and-desist orders seeking to stop Kalshi from offering sports event contracts. In response, the startup that sounds a little like a document used by Hollywood to coordinate schedules (call sheet) has sued state regulators in NJ, MD, and NV.

Big picture: It’s not just FanDuel and Kalshi—nearly all the sportsbooks and federally regulated exchanges (ex: Crypto.com + other crypto exchanges) are engaged in discussions to figure out frameworks of potential partnerships, industry sources told Front Office Sports.

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⏱️ CATCH UP QUICK

Headlines de la semaine

🏒 The Panthers move one step closer to NHL dynasty status. Florida raised the Stanley Cup in front of their home fans following a victory over Edmonton for the second straight year, thanks largely to a record-tying four goals from Sam Reinhart. And while the Panthers don’t technically meet the conventional definition of a sports dynasty—3+ titles within a short period—they’re just the third repeat Stanley Cup champions of the NHL’s salary cap era. Florida is widely expected to remain a top contender next year and into the future, with the majority of its core signed to long-term deals.

⚾ The Tampa Bay Rays owner is swimming away from a sinking ship. Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg is close to a deal to sell the team for $1.7B to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, who signed a letter of intent to purchase the MLB team after its new stadium deal recently fell through, according to Sportico. If finalized, the price would be nearly identical to the 2024 sale of the Baltimore Orioles, who fetched $1.73B. In related news: the Buss family reportedly agreed to sell majority ownership of the LA Lakers to Mark Walter, CEO of TWG Global, in a deal valuing the team at $10B, which would mark the largest sports franchise sale of all time.

⛸️ A new combat sport wants to take the hockey out of fighting. The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship hosted its inaugural “Ice Wars” event in Michigan this past weekend, where 20 competitors—including UFC veteran Charles Rosa and Shoresy cast member Nick Laporte—strapped on skates and entered a 900 sq-ft ice enclosure designed for hockey fighting. The 90-second bouts were judged by a panel of hockey-fighting legends: Jon “Nasty” Mirasty, Frank “The Animal” Bialowas, and ~~Doug Glatt~~ 4x Stanley Cup champ Darren McCarty. Ice Wars is the latest unconventional combat sport trying to go mainstream—the UFC recently launched Power Slap, a slap-fighting competitive circuit, and is expanding into Brazilian jiu-jitsu with its first-ever live event next week.

🏀 CRYSTAL BBALL

It’s shaping up to be a busy NBA offseason

Gotham must be having PTSD: A man named Bane has once again become an agent of chaos.

The Memphis Grizzlies moved Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks, and one first-round pick, a marquee trade that kicks off an NBA offseason projected to be busier than Señor Frog’s during spring break.

Suns superstar Kevin Durant, 36, who has one year and $54.7M left on his contract, is also expected to be dealt soon. His preferred destinations include the Heat, Spurs, or Rockets, according to ESPN.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly “open-minded” to leaving Milwaukee.
Other stars who could potentially be on the move include Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Suns guard Bradley Beal, Kings forward Zach LaVine, and Hawks guard Trae Young.

Not to get ahead of ourselves…There are still one—maybe two—games left before the NBA offseason officially starts. Game 6 of the Finals takes place tonight, with the Thunder up 3-2 over the Pacers in the best-of-seven series.

💬 WORD ON THE STREET

Overheard

“You’ve got competitive women, who are the best in the world at what they do, right? And when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete.”

Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese may be the WNBA’s most heated rivalry du jour. But don’t count out Connecticut Sun G Jacy Sheldon just yet.

Sheldon, a recent Ohio State grad, has gone back-and-forth with Indiana Fever star Clark (Iowa) since their days in the Big Ten. And those tensions reached new heights on Tuesday night, in a chippy Fever-Sun matchup that saw two major scuffles.

The first dustup started when Sheldon poked Clark in the eye; Clark reacted by shoving Sheldon back. Sun G Marina Mabrey then ran into the scrum and knocked Clark to the ground, with all three players receiving technical fouls.
The second bench-clearing incident came with 46 seconds left, when Sheldon was going for a fastbreak layup and received a hard intentional foul from Fever G Sophie Cunningham.

The Fever had the last laugh: Indiana delivered an 88-71 win to clinch a spot in the WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship game on July 1 against the Minnesota Lynx.

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📰 NEWS

What else is happening

Coastal Carolina punched its ticket to the CWS final after beating Louisville 11-3. The Chanticleers have now won 26-consecutive games, and will face LSU, who beat Arkansas 6-5 yesterday, in a best-of-three series for the title (starts Saturday).
See a full list of all soccer’s transfer deals so far in June.
Joey Chestnut will return to the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest after sitting out last year because of contract beef (ba-dum-tsh).
The Mascot Hall of Fame welcomed five new members this week.
The race between Olympic gold medalist sprinter Noah Lyles and Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill has been canceled.

🤔 TRIVIA

Place your bets: It’s time for Franchise Roulette

The ~~roules~~ rules: Below we’ve compiled three facts about a professional sports franchise—your challenge is to guess which franchise we’re talking about. Eligible franchises are those currently playing in the Big 4 (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA).

Today’s team:

Was originally named the "Colt .45s," which came about as the result of a fan contest
Had a previous stadium that was once referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World"
Is the first in MLB history to win three different divisions

Hints: Two World Series titles; CF hill

🌐 WEB GEMS